And God Came Down
Christmas Eve 2000
Selected Verses
Preached by Pastor Tony Miano
Pico Canyon Community Church
December 24, 2000
Introduction: Christmas—it’s a time for celebration. It’s a time for family and friends. It’s a time for the community to draw closer together. Christmas is so many things. But what is it to you this morning?
It’s easy, sometimes, to miss the spirit of Christmas because we spend so much time chasing after it. Have you noticed that the Christmas decorations go up in the stores and at the mall a little sooner every year? It used to be that the public decorations wouldn’t begin until after Thanksgiving. Now, they begin to go up before Halloween.
Why is that? Is it because the world gets excited about celebrating the birth of a humble child a little earlier each year? Or is it because we all need a little more time each year to get all of our shopping done, to make sure Sam next door hasn’t beaten you to the annual Wal-Mart, ten weeks before Christmas, house and lawn decoration sale. Remember last year he ruined your plans by being the first on the block to have the mother of all lawn decorations in his front yard—a life size Santa’s sleigh being pulled by the space shuttle (also life size). He got his though when he fired the shuttle’s engine and burnt down his garage.
It’s very easy for all of us to get caught up in the trappings of Christmas. I know that’s not an original message and I’m sure there are pastors all over the country this morning who are stressing this very point in their sermons.
This morning we’re going to read Luke’s account of the Christmas story if, for no other reason, it is a beautifully written story. As we read the Christmas story, as we remember the birth of Jesus, I think more often than not we focus on the fact that Jesus was born. We focus on the facts surrounding His birth. But how much time do we really spend considering the reasons why Jesus was born—the reasons why God came down—why God had to become a man.
I thought we should do just that this morning. I want you to put the driving you’re going to do over the next couple of days in the back of your mind. I want you to put the busyness you are anticipating over the next couple of days in the back of your mind. Let’s take a little time this morning and consider why God came down. In the process, there may be some of you here this morning that may receive the greatest Christmas gift ever.
Let’s pray.
Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke, chapter 2. We’re going to be reading verses 1-20.
There are several reasons why the Christmas story had to take place just the way it did. One reason is that the Old Testament Scriptures foretold of Jesus’ birth hundreds of years before it happened.
For instance, in Isaiah 7:13-14 we read, “Then He said, ‘Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
Isaiah also wrote in 9:6, For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Even the place where Jesus would be born is foretold in the Old Testament. Micah 5:2-4 says, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain, because at the time He will be great to the ends of the earth. This One will be our peace.”
Maybe you’re here this morning and wonder if Isaiah and Micah’s predictions about Christ’s birth were just lucky guesses. Well, consider this. Jesus fulfilled over 40 prophecies or predictions about the life of Christ, from where and when he would be born to how He would die and rise again, down to the smallest detail. Mathematicians, who have the time to calculate such things, say the chances of this happening are astronomical. In fact, the numbers indicate that the chance of Jesus fulfilling even eight of these prophesies is one in one hundred million billion.
Now while your trying to figure out how many zeros that is, let me illustrate the odds in this way. Jesus fulfilling eight—not forty—eight of the prophesies about His life would be equivalent to covering the entire state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars, with one painted red, and having a blindfolded person wander about the state, bend over, and pick up the painted coin on the first try.
Even more important than the fulfilling of ancient prophecy are several reasons extremely pertinent to our lives for God coming down in the form of man, in the person of Jesus Christ. This morning we are going to look at three—our need for a substitute sacrifice, our need for a mediating Messiah, and our need for an everlasting example to follow.
Our Need For A Substitute Sacrifice
Let’s look at our need for a substitute sacrifice.
I chose the story “The Crippled Lamb” for the kids, for a couple of reasons. One is the simple fact that I like Max Lucado’s writing. The other is that as I prepared for this morning’s message, I spent a lot of time thinking about the sheep and shepherd’s significance to the Christmas story.
Shepherding was considered a very lowly position. The shepherds were not the upwardly mobile, socially acceptable, cream of the crop type of people. For whatever reason, shepherds were looked upon by the rest of the community as untrustworthy. In the eyes of the religious segment of the community, shepherds were considered ceremonially unclean.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry He was often criticized for associating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus’ response was simple. He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). I don’t think it was a mere coincidence that the angel who proclaimed the birth of the child would first appear to those who society considered outcasts.
There are some other interesting reasons why the angel may have appeared to the shepherds in the field. Let’s not forget that one of the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah was that He would be a descendant from the line of King David. Remember how David got his start. When the prophet came to look at Jesse’s sons for a possible king, where was young David? He was tending to the sheep in the field.
In my studies I discovered that the sheep in the fields the night of Jesus’ birth were not just any sheep, but sheep designated for a specific purpose. The sheep mentioned in Luke’s account of the Christmas story were not grazing in pastureland, but in the fields, most likely along the road leading to Jerusalem. Not far from Bethlehem, along the road to Jerusalem, was a tower known as Migdal Eder. This tower was where the shepherds would station themselves to keep watch over the flocks. The raised platform gave the shepherds a bird’s-eye view of the entire flock.
Because of the high-volume need for lambs for the ceremonial sacrifices in the Jewish temple, “Rabbinical authorities had authorized that animals found between Jerusalem and Bethlehem could be used for this purpose” (HFC Willcox, web article). How appropriate for the angel to appear to those who were guarding the future sacrifices for the sins of the people, heralding the good news of the coming Savior who would one day sacrifice His very life to pay the price for their sins once and for all.
Another interesting side note to this part of the story is the fact that Levite boys were often called upon to serve as the shepherds to these designated herds of sheep. The Levites had been set apart by God to serve as the temple priests. Some of the shepherds who saw and heard the angel that night and would later make their way to see the newborn babe may have grown to be the same temple priests who would challenge Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. Some may have even gone on to participate in the conspiracy to arrest and execute Jesus.
So why was a substitute sacrifice necessary? Why couldn’t God just declare all of our sins forgiven and let us off the hook? Isn’t that what a loving God would do?
We’re told in the Book of Romans “the wages of sin is death.” There is no ambiguity in the verse. In God’s judicial system, there is no time off for good behavior. There is not a probation or parole system. The law is simple. The penalty for the sins we commit, no matter how great or how small in our own estimation, is death—eternal separation from God. There is only one way for man to avoid that penalty. Someone has to take his place. And this is where we see the ultimate example of God’s love.
The only one who could take the place of sinful man was a man without sin. Never has a man or woman lived, before or after the birth of Jesus, who could make such a claim—who could claim a life lived devoid of sin. God knowing that man could not possibly save himself sent His Son Jesus Christ. Although fully God, the babe born in the manger was also fully man.
Hebrews 2:16-17 says, “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
If God’s focus were saving the angels, there would have been no need for God to take the form of man. But the angels are not God’s primary concern. God’s concern was and is with saving people. “But to do this he ‘had to’ be made like us in every way, so that he might become ‘the propitiation’ for us, the sacrifice that is an acceptable substitute for us” (Grudem, p. 540).
In order for Jesus to be fully man He had to be born in the same way as every other man. The only way for Jesus to be born without inheriting the sin nature of man was through the miraculous birth from the womb of a virgin. So that’s what God did. And God came down.
Our Need For A Mediating Messiah
Jesus came to take our place, to pay the penalty for our sins. It is our sins that have alienated us from God. In order for reconciliation to take place between God and man, there needs to be a Mediator. I Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
This special and necessary form of mediation requires the perfect Mediator. The Mediator had to be one who could not only represent man before God, but also represent God before man. One of the most difficult and frequent things I had to do, as a deputy sheriff, was mediate between disgruntle parties. Whether it be at a traffic collision, between street gangs, or a family dispute, it was never easy.
Typically, during the contact, one or both sides would make the argument that I had no business interfering in their problem, even if they were the one who called for me, because I had no idea what they were going through. They would try to assert that I shouldn’t have a say in the outcome because I didn’t know what was best for them.
More often than not, the mediation I provided served as little more than a band-aid. They submitted to my authority because it was better than going to jail that night. It was rare for the mediation I did to have any long lasting effects. Those rare occasions when I was able to make a genuine difference were memories to hold onto that helped to make up for the many times the mediation did little more than keep the peace for a time.
The times when I was most effective in mediation were those times when I could convince both sides that I had the life experience and credibility to adequately represent each side to the other. In order for a man to be fully represented before God, the representative has to be a man.
The representative has to be a man who experienced life as a man, who successfully navigated life’s trials and temptations without ever falling prey to sin, and would be acceptable in God’s presence.
At the same time, in order for God to be fully represented before man, the representative has to be God. Anything less would be utterly incapable of representing the perfect, holy, and righteous attributes of God.
God, knowing full well what was required in order to restore man’s relationship with Him, sent his Son Jesus Christ to serve as the only Mediator between the Creator and His creation, to serve as the perfect Advocate for mankind. Without the mediation of the Messiah, there is no hope for reconciliation between God and man. On that incredible night so long ago, on that first Christmas, the Mediator was born. And God came down.
Our Need For An Everlasting Example To Follow
I have said this before and I may run the risk of sounding like a broken record to some of you. Our God is a practical God. Our God is a relevant God. Likewise His Word, the Bible, is practical and relevant.
Some of you may hear Jesus described as a substitute or a mediator and think of those terms as too abstract. Maybe, even if you recognize your need for the Savior, you still struggle with the idea of what difference it makes today in the world in which you live.
Well, God expressed His practicality in an extraordinary way when He sent His Son to be an everlasting example for us to follow.
Noah Webster has given us this definition of the word “example.” He wrote, “A pattern, in morals or manners; a copy, or model; that which is proposed or is proper to be imitated” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1828 ed.). Whether or not we want to admit it, we are all looking for someone or something to follow.
Even if you consider yourself a leader, you still look to others to pattern your life after. I’m sure each of us can think of at least one person after whom we would like to pattern our lives. For instance, “One Sunday morning in 1865, a black man entered a fashionable church in Richmond, Virginia. When Communion was served, he walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar. A rustle of resentment swept the congregation. How dare he! After all, believers in that church used the common cup.”
“Suddenly a distinguished layman stood up, stepped forward to the altar, and knelt beside the black man. With Robert E. Lee setting the example, the rest of the congregation soon followed his lead” (Moody Bible Institute’s Today in the Word, September, 1991, p. 15).
God, knowing the heart of every man, woman, and child, knew that people 2,000 years ago, just as people are today, were looking for and in need of an example to follow—an example that would lead people to walk in the ways of God and follow His commandments.
Because of man’s fallibility, a sinful man could not possibly fulfill this requirement. Oh certainly, a mere man may be able to live by God’s standards for a time, maybe even the majority of their life. But a mere man could not keep this holy standard all the days of his life.
“Mickey Mantle, [was] an almost mythical baseball star who feared he had failed to fulfill career expectations because of alcohol abuse, [spent his last] years haunted by self-recrimination. He died of cancer [in 1995]. He was 63. The former New York Yankees center fielder and a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame said at a . . . news conference [just a few weeks before he died] that he had squandered a gifted life and warned admirers he was no role model. ‘God gave me the ability to play baseball. God gave me everything,’ he said. ‘For the kids out here, don’t be like me’” (Los Angeles Times, Monday, August 14, 1995)
No matter whom we look up to as our examples in life, they will, at some point let us down. Mickey Mantle, who some close to the hall-of-famer testify came to faith in Christ before he died, realized this about his own life.
I can think of men and women today and from history past for which I have great deal of respect. As I think about them, I can recall times when they have done things to cause me to question why I looked up to them in the first place.
Whether we look up to people, like Mickey Mantle, for their incredible abilities or because, like Robert E. Lee, they possess seemingly unquestionable character; they will, at some point in their lives, fall short of the mark. That’s why God had to send someone better, someone pure for us to pattern our lives after. Only God could fit that bill.
On the other hand, had God provided an example that existed only in the heavenly realm, a spirit being, people would probably look at the example and say, “Well, that’s great. But that’s not real. He’s not like me. It’s easy for him. He doesn’t have to live here. He doesn’t have to deal with the things like I’m going through if he doesn’t want to.”
Jesus Christ set aside, for a time, the privilege and status associated with being the God of the universe to live a life among sinful creatures, in abject poverty, while constantly under threat of persecution or death. Through it all He honored His heavenly Father, He obeyed His heavenly Father, and He walked closely with His heavenly Father. Through it all He never said “what’s in it for me.” Through it all He remained humble, loving and righteous.
Take a moment and see if you can think of another person, past or present, which has this kind of report card. I’m guessing you can’t. That’s why the apostle John tells us, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same way in which he walked” (I John 2:6).
Now when John says we ought to walk in the same manner that Jesus walked, he is not saying that we should sell our homes, live on the streets, and seek ways to be threatened and persecuted. What John is saying is that regardless of the circumstances, we should recognize that Jesus endured more on our behalf then we will ever have to endure ourselves. With that we should seek to imitate the heart of Christ, the integrity of Christ, the genuineness of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, and the love of Christ in all of our circumstances.
This behavior, this lifestyle, can be summed up in a word—humility. Can a greater example of humility be given than God becoming a man to save those whom He loves? I don’t think so.
We often look to the cross of Christ when we think of the sacrifice God made for us. We often look to the birth of Christ as the incredible gift of God’s love. Both are certainly true. We should meditate on both of these truths daily as we seek to follow His example.
But let’s not lose sight of the fact that the birth of Christ was also a great sacrifice. It’s easy at times to take a gift for granted—more so than a sacrifice made on our behalf. Couple that with the busyness of the season, and the growing trend to take Christ out of Christmas—if we’re not careful we may fail not only to appreciate the gift of Christmas, but overlook the sacrifice made in the same event. The gift and the sacrifice are one in the same—the birth of Jesus Christ to provide us with an example to follow. And God came down.
Call To Receive Christ
A gift is not only given. It is also received. Maybe you’re here this morning and you’ve heard about the gift of Christmas all of your life. Maybe you have been under the impression that the gift was given to you yet you’re frustrated because you’ve never truly experienced the joy the gift can bring. If that describes your heart this morning, maybe you’ve yet to experience the joy of the gift because you’ve never truly received it. A gift is not only given. It is also received.
As we close our time together, I would like to share a poem with you. It’s called “My First Christmas In Heaven.”
I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below,
With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow,
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear,
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear,
But the sounds of music can’t compare with the Christmas choir up here,
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing.
I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart,
But I am not so far away, We really aren’t apart,
So be happy for me, dear ones, You know I hold you dear,
And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.
Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do.
For I can’t count the blessing or love he has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear
Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
A 13-year-old boy named Ben who died of a brain tumor that he had battled four years wrote this poem. He gave this to his mom shortly before he died.
Not only is a gift given, not only is it received, but it is also free. If I were to give you my watch and told you it was a gift, then I asked you to give me $10 for it, would you still consider it a gift? Do you remember earlier that I told you the wages of sin is death? Well, that’s only part of the verse. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In his poem Ben told his mom, “So have a merry Christmas and wipe away the tear. Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.” Ben had an assurance in his heart that can only be shared by those who have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Before he died he knew where he would spend eternity. He knew that in a short while he would be with Jesus in heaven. He knew that, he had such a great assurance, because Jesus Christ was in his heart and part of his life while he lived on earth.
Ben realized in his short life what every one of us should not leave here this morning without realizing. God made an incredible sacrifice; God gave us an incredible gift, when He came down. What God did 2,000 years ago in a cold, dark, and smelly stable half a world away is absolutely relevant to where you’re at in your life.
God saw your need before you were even born. God knew that without the Substitute Sacrifice, without the Mediating Messiah, without the Everlasting Example, all of which is only found in His Son Jesus Christ, you would live your life, whether you can admit it or not, longing for the gift He wants to freely give you. And God came down.
Let me encourage you with this. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, don’t let the world get in the way of you spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year. Spend time reflecting upon the fact that God came down. Don’t relegate the moment to a simple chorus of “Happy Birthday, Jesus” under the Christmas tree. Take time to give Jesus Christ the praise and honor and glory He so richly deserves.
If you are here this morning and you are wondering if you have an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ, understand that you can leave here this morning knowing for sure, in your heart. Spend Christmas with Jesus Christ this year. Receive the gift of salvation, the free gift of eternal life, by asking Him to forgive your sins and be the Lord of your life. Remember, God came down for you, too.
